Miniature golf game apparatus



June 4, 1957 P. H. KNOTT 2,794,646

MINIATURE GOLF GAME APPARATUS Filed April 27, 1955 'FIG.I

FIGB

C: Philip F|G.4 BY M ATTORNEY United States Patent MINIATURE GOLF GAME APPARATUS Philip H. Knott, New York, N. Y. Application April 27, 1955, Serial No. 504,227

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-176) The present invention relates to a miniature golf game apparatus which may be played and used indoors or outdoors.

Such game apparatus has been proposed before in which a central green was provided and a plurality of driveways were arranged in radial or star-like provision around the center green. It is quite apparent that this known arrangement required not only a comparatively large area, but was also rather expensive due to the plurality of driveways which were hingedly connected with the central green.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide such game apparatus which comprises a central green and a singular driveway and means for exchangeably positioning different obstacles between the driveway and the green.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a singular green and a singular driveway spaced slightly apart from said green and a ring member defining a plurality of zones rotatably mounted around said green in such manner that selectively each zone of said ring member carrying a particular obstacle may be disposed in a space between said green and said driveway.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the present miniature golf game apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a section along the lines 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side end view thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the connecting means between the green and the driveway.

Referring now to the drawings the present invention comprises a green 1 of circular shape which has a cylindrical wall 2 extending upwardly from its bottom, spaced apart a predetermined distance from its outer edge, which wall 2 forms a recess 3 at its front portion. A ring member 4 is rotatably mounted on the outer portion of the green 1, which ring member 4 is divided into a plurality of zones 5 by two wall portions 6 and 7 disposed between each pair of adjacent zones, which wall portions 6 and 7 are disposed at a slight angle to the radial direction and form together a V for the purpose to be demonstrated below.

Although the driveway 8 may be made integral with the green 1, it is preferred to provide a separate member for the driveway 8 which may be displaceably secured to Patented June 4, 1957 the green 1, thus forming a throat between the driveway 8 and the green 1. Bolts 9 projecting from the front face 10 of the driveway 8 secured the driveway 8 to the green 1 which bolts 9 are received by corresponding openings 11 in the engaging face 12 of the green 1, or any other conventional connecting means may be provided. The driveway 8 is a longitudinal fiat member which has for the greater portion thereof side walls 13 along its longitudinal edges. Furthermore, the driveway 8 may be equipped with tee indentations 14 which are disposed adjacent its front end and also with cross walls 15 disposed adjacent the rear end of the driveway 8 and are adapted to narrow down the path for the ball from the driveway 8 to the green 1.

Each of the zones 5 of the ring member 4 carries an obstacle 16 which is preferably different from the obstacles disposed in the other zones 5. The green 1 may also have one or a plurality of obstacle spots as a sand trap indentation 17 in order to reduce the score and make the playing with the game apparatus more difficult.

The apparatus as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 3 is operated in the following manner:

A ball (not shown) is driven by a club over the driveway 8, which ball encounters one of a plurality of obstacles disposed on the ring member 4, depending upon the position of the latter. The game is played in such manner that all players, each of whom has a ball of a color different from that of the balls of the other players, tries to pass a ball over the driveway 8 through the obstacle 16 on to the green 1 and when all players had their turn, the ring member 4 is rotated relative to the green 1 so that the next adjacent or any other zone is placed in position between the driveway 8 and the green 1. In order to align the respective walls 6 and 7 with the wall 13, the walls 6 and 7 are disposed, as stated before, at an angle to the radial direction, thereby preventing that the ball may escape during its drive from the driveway 8 to the green 1.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claim.

I claim:

A miniature golf game apparatus comprising a substantially circular green and an elongated driveway spaced apart from said green and forming a throat therebetween, and a rotatable ring member surrounding said green and moving through said throat, the said ring member carrying a plurality of different obstacles and being adapted to selectively bring one of said obstacles into said throat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,533,417 Holland Apr. 14, 1925 1,561,178 McGrann Nov. 10, 1925 1,612,291 Jackson Dec. 28, 1926 1,818,749 Pittler Aug. 11, 1931 1,870,536 Vaccaro Aug. 9, 1932 1,886,399 Hause Nov. 8, 1932 1,897,289 Wieden Feb. 14, 1933 2,606,028 Zion Aug. 5, 1952 

